It was extremely hard for me to leave Europe - for more reasons than one. Travel flows through my veins. Although I get tired of living out of a suitcase, I think I could easily do it for a year, moving form city to the next, in search of new things. Leaving Europe meant that I was returning to the mundane once again. Lebanon is anything but mundane, but for me, who has lived in the ancient land for most of my life, it has become almost ordinary. It's good to get away every once in awhile - it helps me appreciate Lebanon.

But I am not ready to return to the life of the settled. Neither do I feel ready to leave the land of faeries, strange tales, Celts, Goths, Vikings, and other such things that have slipped silently into legend and children's stories. I can hardly wait to go back, which is funny to me since I hope for my next adventure to take place on a different continent.

Finally, I was and am not ready to leave my dear childhood friends, whom I've remained very close to all thse years. What would I do without them in my life? Dear Annika... distance and time has not separated us. In our own worlds and lives, we continue to choose the same things - we were meant to be best friends. Anneli... how can I ever forget her energy and creativity? She was part of the inspiration that pushed me to keep dreaming and striving for more. And now Peter has become a part of that, in an unexpected and beautiful way.

In times of reflection like this, I sit and dream of what has happened and what could happen next. There are no limits to where the inklings of my mind go. I am ready for more.